


a new year's kiss

by liionne



Series: A thousand ways to meet [25]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, New Year's Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-26
Updated: 2013-12-26
Packaged: 2018-01-06 06:56:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1103817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liionne/pseuds/liionne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times Leonard McCoy kissed his Bright Eyed Boy, and one time he kissed Jim Kirk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a new year's kiss

**Author's Note:**

> I'm posting this early because I won't have my laptop for New Years, so you can all enjoy it now!
> 
> I hope you've all had a merry christmas, and a happy new year to all of you!

The first year Leonard kissed his Bright-Eyed Boy, he was 24 and happily married.

Jocelyn had to go back to Georgia for New Years, whilst Leonard went off to spend the holidays with his parents at the Lodge. Every since he was ten years old they spent New Years at that Lodge, and they weren't about to break tradition yet.

His parents decided that, instead of going down to the bar, they were going to have New Years in their room. They were getting old, too old to be crammed into the tiny room with all the cheap cigarette smoke and teenagers.

Leonard went down alone; he liked going down to the bar, liked being packed in like a sardine, and he enjoyed the cheap alcohol and the second hand smoke.

He didn't have a kiss for midnight; or at least, not one that he'd planned. He'd been crossing the floor to head to the balcony during the countdown when he was grabbed the arms and jerked forward.

The kid (because he must've only been eighteen or nineteen) was hard to make out in the dark, but Leonard could definitely see a crop of blonde hair, and bright eyes shining even in the dim light of the club.

When they kissed, he tasted he like cherry vodka and chocolate, and Leonard was left with the taste even after he'd pulled away and lost him to the crowds and the darkness.

~*~

The second year Leonard kissed his Bright-Eyed Boy, he was 25 and _still_ happily married.

Jocelyn was there, but she was heavily pregnant. Leonard offered to stay with her and looked after her, but she dropped off before she gave him a straight answer. Thinking she wouldn't mind him going down to the bar for a little while, he left, deciding he'd only stay for two fingers of bourbon and the countdown, and then he'd be back.

Shamefully, he found himself searching for the kid as he sat at the bar. It was hard to see _anything_ in the dim light and the crowds, but he was sure he was nowhere to be seen.

When the countdown began, Leonard tried to cross the room to get to the balcony. He liked the feel of the icy air on his skin, and he knew that people without a date tended to hang around that area.

He only got halfway there; somebody grabbed his forearms and pulled him forward. When Leonard's gaze caught those bright blue eyes, he grinned. Or he would have, if his lips weren't otherwise occupied.

This year he tasted different; he tasted like Blue Wicked and Jellybeans, and despite the change, Leonard wasn't complaining.

When the cheering ended and Jim pulled away, Leonard watched him leave, and as he headed up to his room and to his wife, he felt the butterflies in his stomach wither and die.

~*~

The third year Leonard kissed his Bright-Eyed Boy, he was 26, and he was troubled.

The baby was sick; Leonard knew it was just a cold, was qualified enough to say so, but Jocelyn refused to leave her bedside. The argument they had about his going to the bar was just a spat- well, that was what Leonard told himself. He headed down to the bar in a rage, intent on staying just a little longer than he'd initially promised out of spite.

He ordered himself a bourbon, and made his way straight to where he and the boy had kissed for the last two years. Whether he'd be there or not Leonard didn't know, but he hoped so.

The longer he stood there, however, the worse he felt. Leonard thought about his daughter; she _could_ take a turn for the worse at any time. Jocelyn was right to stay. And she was only worried for their baby, their first child. He shouldn't have argued like he had.

As the countdown begun Leonard knocked back the rest of his drink ad got ready to leave. Forget New Years; his family needed him.

But just as he was about to take a step towards the door, there were hands upon his hips, spinning him round and pulling him forward.

Leonard didn't need to see him to know that it was the kid. He was starting to recognise the feel of his lips and the smell of his skin, although his taste changed every time. This year it was strawberry daquiri and cheap cigarettes, and even though he thought he should have been Leonard wasn't disappointed.

He was disappointed in himself, however, when the kid pulled away and left, and Leonard wished he had of stayed.

~*~

The fourth year Leonard kissed his Bright-Eyed Boy, he was 27, and not so happily married.

Jocelyn came with him anyway, but she said she wasn't going down to the bar. Too much smoke, too many people, so crowded. Somebody had to watch the baby. She wasn't going. But if Leonard wanted to go then she wasn't going to stop him. Her tone suggested otherwise, but whatever.

Leonard went anyway.

He ordered himself a glass of bourbon; or rather, he was passed a glass of bourbon. The bartender knew him pretty well by now, seeing as he'd been ordering two fingers of bourbon every New Years Eve for the past nine years of his life, so it was less ordering and more receiving these days.

He didn't want to kiss the kid, not this year. His home life was in turmoil; if he got caught, this would only make things worse. Leonard chewed his lips, unsure of what to do as the countdown begun.

He had lef this glass on the bar, he noted, as he walked toward their spot. He hadn't told his feet to move, but part of him knew this was for the best.

When he kissed him, he tasted like white wine and lemonade. Leonard would've told him how classy he thought that was, considering the tastes he'd had previously, but he was gone before Leonard could even catch his breath.

~*~

The fifth year Leonard kissed his Bright-Eyed Boy, he was 28, and unhappily married.

He spent all day in the bar, from when it opened at six o'clock in the evening. Jocelyn hadn't come with him. She had stayed at home with Joanna, and no doubt Clay Treadway would be over as soon as Leonard's car was safely out of the driveway. Not that Leonard cared. Technically he'd been cheating all along.

He drank a _lot_ of bourbon. He put it all on a tab, too, which was definitely a bad idea. He barely even noticed when the countdown started, but when it got down to five he found himself staggering forward, desperately searching for the kid.

He was caught by a pair of strong arms, which held him upright as they kissed. This year he tasted like Budweiser and cheap cigarettes, a stark contrast to the year before. Not that Leonard was complaining. Their lips pressed together and their tongues sliding against eachother was enough for him.

It was too soon when the kid pulled away; he propped him against a wall, and gave his hands a gentle squeeze before he left.

Leonard's vision blurred too much for him to watch him go, and his heart sunk like a stone in his chest.

~*~

The sixth year Leonard kissed Jim Kirk, he was 29, and he wasn't married.

He was back at the lodge, and he was alone. But he didn't mind too much. At first, leading up to and after the divorce, he'd drank so heavily that he hadn't been able to see straight. But then, it had gotten closer to the new year, and his thoughts had turned to the kid. He was free, now. He could do what he wanted. He no longer had to feel guilty about their stolen kisses every year.

But still, as the countdown began, Leonard took his bourbon out to the balcony. He leaned against the stone railing, his drink in his hand as he listened to the chanting coming from behind me.

"Think you're getting out of this?"

Leonard looked up when he heard a voice addressing him, someone stood over his shoulder, and he frowned. He stood, only to be pressed against the railing, hands on his sides to hold him still.

The kid kissed him hard and long, long after the countdown was over and the cheering had stopped. He tasted like bourbon; good bourbon, too.

When he pulled away, Leonard grabbed his hand.

"Don't go."

The kid turned, and frowned. "Don't you have a wife to get back to?"

Leonard shook his head. "Not anymore."

He watched as a grin blossomed on the kid's face. He turned, taking Leonard's hands in his own. "My name's Jim."

"Leonard." He replied, a little breathlessly.

"It's nice to meet you, Leonard." Jim said as he pressed closer, their lips almost touching.

"Nice to meet you too, Jim." Leonard murmured, before he pressed his lips to Jim's again.


End file.
